The Hemisphere: Moscow's Man in Havana

Helicopters beat low over Havana, and Russian-built MIG-19 sweptwing jets sent sonic booms thundering down the capital's seafront Malecon Drive. In every town along the 760-mile length of Cuba, the speechmakers mounted their platforms to trumpet victory to the assembled populace. The first anniversary of Fidel Castro's triumph over the haphazard U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion was at hand, and May Day lay just ahead. It was time to celebrate in Communist Cuba.

But this year, unlike last, Cuba's revolutionaries have very little to congratulate themselves about. The regime still stands —a well-armed...

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